Hockey Lessons For n00bz: The Good Old Hockey Game

DC Sports Nexus ---- Wednesday, October 26, 2011

One of the best parts of going to my first Caps game was when they played "The Good Old Hockey Game" on the jumbotron. This song was new to me, and may even be better than "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Blashphemy! You know you want to sing along with the video, and lucky you, the words are provided!

So that is fun and all, but where did it come from? I'll search the never inaccurate Wikipedia to find out...

The song is sung or sang by everyone's favorite Canadian folk singer, the amazing Stompin' Tom Connors. You probably know him from his hit songs "Bud The Spud" and "Big Joe Mufferaw." Those were always big hits at my college parties. Real panty-droppers. The hockey song is even so popular it has punky covers.

He wrote the hockey song way back in 1973 but Internet rumor has it that the song did not break through in NHL arenas til 1997 with the Ottawa Senators, soon spreading from there. But who really cares where it started, the important thing is that every team stole the tradition!

The other question everyone probably has is "Who is Bobby?" from the line "Bobby Scores!". Again, Internet rumor says that Stompin' Tom used Bobby because it applied to many hockey players at the time and could have meant any of them; from Bobby Orr to Bobby Hull. What a twist! Connors knew the money was in the generic nature of the song.

So that my friends, is all I know about the origins of that great song. I can't wait til my next Caps game since I know all the words. (Lyrics are shown on the video at the game if you don't want to memorize them)

=================================================================Hello out there! We're on the air, It's Hockey Night tonight;Tension grows, the whistle blows, And the puck goes down the ice.The goalie jumps, and the players bump, And the fans all go insane;Someone roars, "Bobby scores!" At the good old hockey game.

Oh! The good old hockey game, Is the best game you can name;And the best game you can name, Is the good old Hockey game!

Second Period:Where players dash with skates a-flash, The home team trails behind;But they grab the puck and go bursting up, And they're down across the line.They storm the crease like bumble bees, They travel like a burning flame;We see them slide the puck inside, It's a one-one hockey game.

Oh! The good old hockey game, Is the best game you can name;And the best game you can name, Is the good old Hockey game!

Third period! Last game in the playoffs, too!Oh, take me where the hockey players Face-off down the rink;And the Stanley Cup is all filled up, For the champs who win the drink.Now the final flick of a hockey stick, And the one gigantic scream:"The puck is in" - The home team wins The good old hockey game!

Oh! The good old hockey game, Is the best game you can name;And the best game you can name, Is the good old Hockey game!

And let's not forget the greatest song dedicated to one player: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tjFuuTCfB8 It's about Leaf legend Bill Barilko and the legend of his life and death: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Barilko

The Origins Of This Blog: Prior to this season I had only watched a handful of hockey games. I never really liked watching hockey and I pretty much hated the NHL. Coming in I knew the basics of the game from playing NHL '94 back in the day, but wasn't really aware of how the game really worked. I didn't know half the penalties, I didn't know that a few teams existed or didn't exist, and I was easily frustrated by many things that happened in the NHL. (Icing, Trapezoids, Biscuits, Twigs, Blue Jackets, Plus/Minus, Goons...AHHHH) However, when my beloved NBA was in danger of being locked out for an entire season, that was my cue to force myself to watch something that I previously semi-despised. That brings us to today. I am now a die hard Capitals fan...I now know a bit about hockey...but I still have a long way to go.